‘Challenge Detroit’ Attracts Young People To The City

DETROIT (WWJ) – Challenge Detroit is a group of 30 of the best and brightest young people working to solve some of the problems facing Detroit.

Betsy Berens, 22, is a part of this elite group working to solve problems like how to make fresh food more available to Detroiters and how to retain international students in the city.

“There are really interesting solutions that people have come up with so far, and it’s really great to have people come together and kind of put their brains together and figure out new ideas and bounce ideas off of each other,” Berns said.

Berens, a journalism grad from the University of Wisconsin, told WWJ Newsradio 950’s Beth Fisher she’s enjoying living in Detroit.

“I like that I’m in walkable distance to coffee shops and where I work and places to go out at night. I feel safe and it’s been really great not to use my car,” she said.

Berens is working for Marketing Associates and hopes to stay in Detroit once her year in the program is complete. “It would definitely be difficult to leave just seeing all the changes that I’ve seen so far and being so invested in community development.

“It’s a good kind of different — everything’s changing and there are new things happening every day. So, even in the past few months since I’ve moved here I’ve seen a lot of changes,” Berens said.